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D3, Season 66 Topic

Well JDub ran out of gas in the tank. We just didn't have enough ST to be able to handle early foul trouble and it really spiraled out of control with 50+ FTs for H-S. In the future I hope to have the team ST more like 82-83 for the NT, but it's challenging to find enough of the "right" kind of players for FB/Press.

I am enjoying that switch, though. It's easy to see the FB/Press' potential to dominate when it's really set up right.

Midwest Region
#13 Whittier ended the run of W. New England with smothering second-half defense and an early bevy of 3-point buckets in that half. An 8-0 run to start the second half gave Whittier the lead for good, WNE never got closer than 2 after that. Five players reach double figures for Whittier, which also holds WNE to 39.1% shooting for the game. They will face #5 Willamette in the regional finals. Howard Arnold's conventional 3-point play with 12 seconds remaining put the No. 2 seed ahead and Keith Flor's short jump hook with 3 seconds remaining rolled out to end the run by 11-seed Texas Lutheran, which had led for much of the second half. Tuan Johnson with 18 points for Willamette.

East Region
#24 Wentworth stunned top-seeded Vassar 89-69 to advance with ease. All five starters scored in double figures for Wentworth, as well as Joseph Braund with 15 off the bench. Wentworth drilled 10-of-16 3-point attempts and conducted a passing clinic with 25 assists in the game. Remember, this was a 13 seed! Now they'll stare down #1 Greensboro. The top team in the land forced 14 second-half turnovers and held Ursinus to just 6-for-21 shooting over the final 20 minutes to pull away for the 81-71 victory. Five players in double figures for Greensboro.

South Region
We've heard no confirmed reports that Johnson and Wales head coach spasticity is on suicide watch, but can anyone really blame him if he was after last night's game? #6 Hardin-Simmons thumped the region's top seed 93-72. There might not be in 'I' in team, but there can't be any ugly with 'u'. JW was guilty of 28 turnovers in the game and was whistled for a whipping 35 personal fouls. The latter stat resulted in Hardin-Simmons shooting what may be a tournament-record 54 free throws in the game, happily converting 41 of them. Kevin Bell with 27 points in 21 minutes for the victors. That sets them up in a regional final against #4 Penn St. Altoona. Defense dominated the night for the defending champs in the regional semifinal as they scored a 60-50 win over Trinity. Dirk Gentry's 16 points and 11 rebounds helped PSA overcome a 35.7% shooting performance. Nearly half of the winner's points in the game were scored at the foul line where the team was 28-for-36. PSA also forced 18 turnovers and held Trinity to 36.6% shooting.

West Region
#14 Emory opened the second half with a 12-2 run to take control of its game against top-seeded Susquehanna, then held on for dear life down the waning minutes for a 58-55 lead. Emory never trailed in the second half, but did see Susquehanna climb all the way back from 12 points down to tie the contest late. The shooting numbers tell the story...55.6% for Emory, 37% for Susquehanna. They'll face #2 Buena Vista for a spot in the Final Four. BV grabbed a seven-point halftime lead and never allowed CSU, Eastbay to get closer than 3 in the second half in an 89-79 win. Ruben Sabia with 22 points for Buena Vista. Robert Goff added 19 off the bench.

Just an aside note...all four Final Four predictions are playing for regional titles tonight. Also, the two schools featured in the Way Too Early Final Four but not selected postseason are also still playing. Who says we don't give you quality prognostication in these parts?

Posted by bullman17 on 6/19/2013 10:01:00 AM (view original):Hey Rednu, did you look at the play by play of your game against Whittier? They switched to man defense with about four minutes left. As Brian would say, that is "gutsy".

No, I hadn't noticed that bullman -- good catch! Overall, I thought my guys handled that game pretty well. GL tonight when you get your crack at them.

#4 Whittier (27-6, windixies)
There was nothing subtle about Whittier's arrival in the Final Four. The So. Cal. representative won the Midwest regional final 74-48 over Willamette. Whittier forced 18 turnovers while committing just 9 and allowed Willamette just 37.3% shooting and eight trips to the foul line. Charles Hsu and Terry Moss with 14 points each in the win.

#1 Greensboro (32-1, tilldog28)
Greensboro needed a 14-0 run shortly after the midpoint of the second half to finally take care of that pesky 13-seed Wentworth, 93-83. Prior to that streak, it looked like the upset parade might continue. Wentworth led by six with 12 minutes to play and had been in control throughout the second half. That changed abruptly as Wentworth went 3-1/2 minutes without scoring. Stephen Coachman with 19 points to lead Greensboro, which owned a 36-25 advantage rebounding.

#2 Hardin-Simmons (29-4, sublightd)
Hardin-Simmons rallied from eight points down at the half to dispatch the defending national champion Penn St. Altoona by a 68-65 final score. A 10-0 run midway through the second half erased PSA's lead and put Hardin-Simmons in front 53-52 with about 8 minutes remaining. Although the contest would be tied several times, PSA never again held a lead. Joseph Koss with 20 points and 10 boards for HS, which forced 21 turnovers in the contest.

#6 Emory (26-9, phalla)
Emory out-shot Buena Vista 54.3% to 40.4% to capture a spot in the Final Four. Timothy Lane came up with 16 points as Emory took a 37-36 halftime lead and stretched it to as high as 16 points in the second half. Buena Vista hit just eight shots from the floor in the final 20 minutes. Emory now gets a rematch of a non-conference game against Hardin-Simmons in one national semifinal. Hardin-Simmons won the first encounter by a 64-48 count.

Top-ranked Greensboro held Whittier to just 27.4% shooting from the floor, including a woeful 6-for-32 in the second half, to run away with its national semifinal contest. John Albrecht scored 20 points in 18 minutes off the bench to help tilldog cruise to his fourth national title game appearance (one previous title) at Greensboro, 80-56.

They'll face Emory as phalla avenged a regular season loss by rallying from 10 points back at halftime and defeating Hardin-Simmons 58-54. Emory held Hardin-Simmons without a point for 9-1/2 minutes in the second half, during which time it embarked on a 16-0 run, transforming a 41-32 shortfall into a 48-41 advantage with 6:01 remaining. Hardin-Simmons never got closer than 3 points with 13 seconds remaining. It will be phalla's first national championship game appearance in his relatively short tenure at Emory. Should he win, he'd tie the Rupp record for most losses by a national champion at D3.